Saad v R [2007] NSWCCA 98

Saad v R [2007] NSWCCA 98

The applicant's pleas of guilty to counts 2 and 4 on the day fixed for trial were not entered at the earliest opportunity because those counts had appeared in the original indictment and the applicant could have pleaded guilty earlier, leaving the Crown to elect whether to proceed on count 1. The sentencing judge adequately took into account the limited utilitarian value of the pleas. Although the judge erred by failing to give reasons for not varying the s44 statutory ratio after finding special circumstances, no lesser sentence was warranted in law given the seriousness of carrying a loaded concealed pistol in a public place and the applicant's prior similar offending.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
18 April 2007
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentence Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Sentence in the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal
Outcome
Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed.
Legal Topics
['discount for Plea of Guilty' 'earliest Opportunity to Plead Guilty' 'special Circumstances' 'non Parole Period and Balance of Term' 'appellate Intervention in Sentence' 'firearms Offences']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing'] ['discount for Plea of Guilty' 'earliest Opportunity to Plead Guilty' 'special Circumstances' 'non Parole Period and Balance of Term' 'appellate Intervention in Sentence' 'firearms Offences']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentence Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Sentence in the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the sentencing judge erred in discounting the sentence for possession of a loaded firearm by not treating the applicant's pleas of guilty as entered at the earliest opportunity." 'Whether the sentencing judge, after finding special circumstances, erred by failing to reflect that finding in the sentence imposed.' 'Whether, despite error, some other sentence was warranted in law and should have been passed.']

Ratio Decidendi

The applicant's pleas of guilty to counts 2 and 4 on the day fixed for trial were not entered at the earliest opportunity because those counts had appeared in the original indictment and the applicant could have pleaded guilty earlier, leaving the Crown to elect whether to proceed on count 1. The sentencing judge adequately took into account the limited utilitarian value of the pleas. Although the judge erred by failing to give reasons for not varying the s44 statutory ratio after finding special circumstances, no lesser sentence was warranted in law given the seriousness of carrying a loaded concealed pistol in a public place and the applicant's prior similar offending.

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal granted; appeal dismissed.

Orders

  • ['Leave to appeal is granted.' 'The appeal is dismissed.']